Moviemaker Interview: Sandra Osawa
Documentary moviemaker Sandra Osawa is one of the recipients of the 2008 Fargo Film Festival’s Bill Snyder Award, claiming the Best Documentary Feature and Best Native American Voices Documentary Feature awards for her movie Maria Tallchief. Osawa, a member of the Makah Nation, has been making movies since the 1970s, and has also taught screenwriting at Evergreen State College and video production at Seattle Community College.
She received a BA from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon and did graduate work at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television and the Universities of Washington and Oregon. Copies of Maria Tallchief are available for purchase from Upstream Video Productions by clicking here.
Maria Tallchief will be screened at the Fargo Film Festival on Thursday, March 6, 2008, at 8:40pm at the Fargo Theatre. Recently, Ms. Osawa spoke with the Fargo Film Festival.
How did you become interested in the subject of Maria Tallchief?
I choose my subjects very carefully as I know I will be with that subject for many years (in this case 7 years off and on). I like subjects that help us understand the more contemporary aspects of Indian identity and that help bring us fresh new ideas about what it means to be “Indian” in modern times. I like to think I’m opening up the definition of what it means to be Indian by including Indian ballerinas, Indian comedians, and Indian jazz musicians. It’s my opinion that we are seen largely as people of the past and largely as people with a problem. I like to show us as very much part of the present and very much a part of the solution.
I cannot believe that no one has done a full length documentary on Maria Tallchief and it only supports my idea that we are more accepted when we become our stereotypes. Sometimes the portrait of a successful Indian woman is a bit threatening and does not really fit the image that most people have when they think of American Indians. I think this speaks to who has the power to tell our stories and we as Indian people are only just beginning to have the ability to do this, so I think that’s why we are starting to see stronger stories emerge and ones that are grounded in real lives, lives that are inspiring and offer a lot of hope to our younger generation.
Your movie features footage of Tallchief dancing during her prime. Can you tell us a little bit about these images?
The footage of Ms. Tallchief dancing in her prime forms the corps of the story and this is the reason the film was delayed or on hold for close to three years. We could not obtain the rights to several key archival pieces and we could not tell the story without using both Orpheus and the Firebird berceuse. These are key roles in Tallchief’s career. We found beautiful clips in Montreal as the New York City Ballet performed there in the mid 1950s and it was broadcast in Canada. The opening moments with Swan Lake are from Montreal, Canada as well as the Les Sylphides ballet segment and Pas de Dix.
The early footage from Ballet Russe came from the Newberry Library and this is some of the earliest footage of Tallchief dancing. There was no sound, but you get a good idea of how innovative these dances were and are. People are very taken with the dancing and it is almost as if you could watch these clips over and over and never tire of them. For me her dancing has special quality and we try very hard to identify that on screen through various people commenting on her art. I’m very happy to be able to introduce Tallchief to a whole new generation of people who have not heard of her, for she deserves her unparalled place in history - both American Indian history and dance history.
What was the greatest challenge you faced during the production of Maria Tallchief?
The greatest challenge for me was to confront a legend and try not to be overwhelmed with the staggering prospect of trying to tell her story in fifty-six minutes and forty seconds, the standard PBS time frame. She has a big story with immense influence and I wanted to try to get it right - to not make any mistakes. I was aware of being an interpreter, so I had to read more, to listen more, and to be very cautious. I admit I had many years of fear when I felt that I could not finish due to untold obstacles and untold delays. As an artist, it is often very hard to reach down and find that bit of oxygen inside that will fuel you and help you get to the finish line.
The artists in our day are not well supported and I’m especially happy that I could include a clip of President Kennedy at the end of our film talking about the importance of art. His time period ushered in the greatest period of funding for artists and such funding has steadily declined over the decades. Now, it is quite a difficult task both to remain independent and to remain an artist. My husband, Yasu, and I have managed to do this for over 30 years and it is good to see our work being used and studied in such places as Harvard and Berkeley and other colleges across the country.